• The festival, promoted by the Cabildo, took place in Plaza de Santa Ana with a line-up that gave centre stage to local talent
• Traditional music and humour blended with the most innovative proposals, all in front of an equally eclectic and multigenerational audience

Like water rushing down a ravine during the festivities, that’s how the Canarian spirit flowed from 6:30 p.m. today, led by the parade of the Banda de Agaete, which paved the way towards Plaza de Santa Ana. An hour later, the music and humour line-up of the Canariona Festival began to unfold — an event driven by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and organised by Infecar on the eve of Canary Islands Day.

“Canariona brings together tradition and modernity, two essential traits of our island. As we can see here in Plaza de Santa Ana, in the heart of the historic centre of the capital, once again this year we’re experiencing an extraordinary atmosphere thanks to a festival that highlights local talent and reflects the enriching mix of styles, tastes, and generations,” said the president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, speaking from the stage.

Canariona has become a highly anticipated event, with a kind of chemistry that manages to connect generations and trends through music as a social thread. This is the fifth edition of Canariona, which continues the legacy of the pre–Canary Islands Day festivals that the Cabildo revived in 2017. In 2020, it evolved into CanariON, a virtual event and a symbol of resilience, as it became the first of its kind in the archipelago during the pandemic.

This festival grows mainly thanks to the music that nourishes it, and the fertile ground of a committed audience, who enjoyed an evening of music and humour that began at 7:30 p.m. and wrapped up around 1:00 a.m. The night opened with Parranda de Teror, featuring special guest performances by vocalists Thania Gil and Julia Rodríguez.

Next came the Tenerife-born comedian Darío López and the aforementioned Yeray Rodríguez, who once again brought their concept “P’Alante y Punto” to life, transforming the space between the town hall and the Cathedral of the Canary Islands into a stream of rhymes and laughter.

Then, the Gran Canaria Big Band took the stage with over twenty musicians and offered a musical journey alongside a selection of singers from the island: Cristina Ramos, Chago Melián, Iván Quintana, Besay Pérez, Pedro Manuel Afonso, Manuel Estupiñán, and Patricia Muñoz.

Like travelling through time without leaving the century-old Plaza de Santa Ana, the night evolved through different musical styles. The first turning point of this artistic transformation was NIA’s performance, followed by Joseph and DJ Baked Belda, who closed out the night dancing under the same sky, facing that ever-moving mirror of people, a multifaceted crystal lit by the moon, reflecting the most current and self-aware face of Gran Canaria.

Once again, music proved to be the island’s deepest form of expression.